BreakBud is a synth breakbeat pad machine — 16 performance pads, each holding a complete drum kit built from pure synthesis (no samples), a 16-step sequencer, and a groove engine. Play it standalone or load it as an AUv3 plugin in any compatible host.
Every sound you hear is generated in real time from oscillators, envelopes, and filters. There are no audio files to load — just parameters to sculpt.
BreakBud is built around one idea: a single screen that lets you perform, sequence, and sound-design all at once.
What you get:
BreakBud uses a single-screen layout. The main area is divided between a 4×4 pad grid (bottom) and a tabbed sequencer panel (top). Two toolbars — one at the top and one at the bottom — give you quick access to all major controls.
The top toolbar switches between sequencer views for the active pad:
A Presets button on the right of the top toolbar opens the preset browser.
On a narrow screen, Input Mode, All Pads, and Pad Copy move into a More (…) menu.
BreakBud works in both portrait and landscape. Landscape gives the sequencer panel more horizontal space and is recommended for detailed editing. The Grid Size toggle lets you balance pad grid vs. sequencer panel to suit your display.
The 4×4 pad grid at the bottom of the screen holds all 16 pads. Each pad is a self-contained preset: its own drum kit, pattern, and groove settings.
Tap a pad to make it active. The sequencer panel immediately updates to show that pad's pattern and parameters. If a pad is playing, it continues uninterrupted while you view its contents.
Tapping a pad latches it — it keeps playing until you tap it again. Switching to a different pad keeps the sequencer position, so the beat continues without interruption. Tapping the pad that plays stops playback. The sequencer clock keeps running while stopped, so a pad that you start again comes in on the grid.
Each pad has its own kit. The factory presets use this: the four rows of pads have four versions of the kit (plain, tight, dark, hot), so a pad switch also changes the sound a little. Use All Pads mode when you want one voice change on every pad.
The Steps view shows a 6-row × 16-column step grid for the active pad. Each row corresponds to one voice: Kick, Snare, Closed Hat, Open Hat, Rim, and FM Hit (top to bottom).
The Input Mode button in the bottom toolbar controls how you interact with step cells. Three modes are available:
Switch modes with the Input Mode button in the bottom toolbar (visible in the Steps tab).
Tap any cell to toggle it on or off. An active step will trigger that voice at the corresponding beat position. An inactive step (empty cell) is silent.
In Velocity input mode, drag vertically on a step cell to set its velocity:
The cell's brightness indicates its velocity — brighter means louder. Velocity has a strong effect on level: a Ghost step is about 19 dB quieter than an Accent, as a real ghost note is.
A ratchet makes one step play 2, 3, or 4 fast hits in place of one. The hits share the time of the step, and each hit is a little quieter than the one before it. Each hit before the last one is closed just before the next hit starts, so each hit is clear also with a long Decay. The last hit has the full Decay. On a swung step the hits end before the next step starts. Use 2 for hat lifts, and 3 or 4 for rolls at the end of a bar.
A moving playhead highlights the currently playing step across all rows. Each row may advance at a different rate if you have set different step rates in Groove Mode (polymeter).
Each row plays through its defined step count and then wraps. By default all rows are 16 steps. You can shorten a row in Groove Mode — for example, a kick row with 8 steps loops twice as fast as a 16-step snare row.
Tap any row header (the icon and label on the left side of a row) to instantly trigger that voice with the current kit parameters. This works in Steps, Groove, and Voice modes — useful for previewing a sound while editing without needing to run the sequencer.
The Groove view gives you per-voice timing controls. Each of the 6 voices has its own row of parameters.
Sets how many steps this voice row uses before looping. Shorter rows create polyrhythmic patterns against longer ones. For example, a 12-step closed hat over a 16-step kick produces a repeating 48-step cycle with shifting accents.
Sets the time value of each step:
| Rate | Description |
|---|---|
| 1/4 | Quarter note per step |
| 1/8 | Eighth note per step |
| 1/16 | Sixteenth note per step (default) |
| 1/8T | Eighth-note triplet per step |
| 1/16T | Sixteenth-note triplet per step |
Mixing rates across rows is where things get interesting: a closed hat on 1/16T against a kick on 1/8 creates authentic jungle and DnB feels.
Delays the off-beats. At maximum swing the off-beats are about 55% of the step duration late, which gives the pattern a strong shuffle feel. The off-beats are the odd positions of the grid, counted from the start of the transport. A row with an odd step count (5 or 7 steps) thus keeps its swing on the same grid as the other rows. Triplet rows (1/8T, 1/16T) have no swing.
Shifts all steps for this voice forward or backward in time (in milliseconds). Use nudge to push a snare slightly late for a lazy feel, or pull a kick early for drive. Nudge is global for the row — it moves every step by the same amount.
Adds subtle random timing variation to each step. The variation is different in each cycle of the row, but it is not random each time you play: a pad gives the same feel each time it plays from the start. The amount scales with BPM so the variation feels the same at different tempos.
The Voice view exposes the synthesis parameters for all 6 voices. Scroll through the voice sections to reach each one. Controls appear as rotary knobs labeled with the parameter name.
All voices follow these rules:
A sine oscillator with a pitch sweep, a short hold for body, and a noise click. The pitch does not change with velocity, so you can tune the kick to your track.
| Parameter | Range | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Pitch | 30–80 Hz | Base pitch of the kick body |
| Punch | 0–24 semitones | Depth of the pitch sweep at the start |
| Decay | 50–1200 ms | Amplitude decay. A long decay also makes the pitch sweep slower (808 style) |
| Drive | 0–1 | Soft-clip saturation. The level stays about the same |
| Click | 0–1 | Band-passed noise burst at the start — the beater sound |
Two tuned body modes (as a real drum head has) plus filtered noise for the snare wires. The noise rings longer than the body.
| Parameter | Range | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Tone Pitch | 80–300 Hz | Pitch of the snare body |
| Noise Color | 0–1 | Color of the noise layer — 0 = warm, 1 = bright |
| Decay | 80–500 ms | Amplitude decay time |
| Dirt | 0–1 | Saturation for grit |
| Body Mix | 0–1 | Blend between noise (0) and body (1) |
Color mixes two sources: filtered noise, and a metal source made of six square oscillators at inharmonic ratios (the classic analog cymbal method) and their ring products, which give the dense spectrum of a cymbal. The two sources are equally loud, so Color changes the character and not the level. The top of the sound fades first, as it does on a real cymbal.
| Parameter | Range | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Pitch | 3–8 kHz | Moves the oscillators and all filters. It changes the sound at each Color value |
| Color | 0–1 | 0 = noise, 1 = metallic. The first half is subtle: the hat is mostly noise up to about 0.6 |
| Decay | 10–120 ms | Amplitude decay (short by design) |
| Air | 0–1 | Moves the weight of the noise to the top of the spectrum |
| Drive | 0–1 | Saturation |
The same engine as the closed hat with a much longer decay range. A closed hat hit chokes an open hat that sounds.
| Parameter | Range | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Pitch | 3–8 kHz | As for the closed hat |
| Color | 0–1 | 0 = noise, 1 = metallic. The first half is subtle: the hat is mostly noise up to about 0.6 |
| Decay | 80–1500 ms | Amplitude decay |
| Air | 0–1 | Brightness of the noise |
| Drive | 0–1 | Saturation |
The Rim voice covers two characters controlled by the Burst knob — a continuum, not a switch.
| Parameter | Range | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Pitch | 800 Hz–6 kHz | Pitch of the high resonance (rim) and of the noise band |
| Decay | 3–350 ms | Ring time of the rim, tail length of the clap |
| Tone | 0.3–0.9 | Moves the weight to the high resonance: brighter, more "tick" |
| Drive | 0–1 | Saturation |
| Burst | 0–1 | Rim (0) to Clap (1) |
A sine body with an FM transient. The pitch does not change with velocity, so you can use it for tuned toms, bass stabs, and melodic hits.
| Parameter | Range | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Pitch | 40–500 Hz | Carrier pitch |
| Decay | 40–3000 ms | Amplitude decay |
| Mod | 0–1 | Ratio of the modulator, from 0.5 to 8 times the carrier. Low values are warm (toms), high values are metallic |
| Amount | 0–1 | Depth of the modulation and brightness |
| Drop | 0–24 semitones | Pitch drop at the start |
The Mixer view has the master level, the Crunch control, a channel for each voice, and the sidechain controls. The mixer is global: it is the same for all 16 pads.
Sets the level of the main output. A soft limiter after it keeps the output below full scale.
Drive on the drum bus. It makes the quiet parts louder and rounds the peaks, as a pushed mixer channel or sampler input does. It works on the low part of the mix (kick and snare body); the hats follow its level but stay clean. Low values glue the kit together. High values give the dirty sound of jungle and hardcore breaks. At 0 it does nothing.
Each of the 6 voices has its own channel:
The sidechain ducks the other voices each time the kick hits — the classic pump. The kick itself is not ducked, so it keeps its full body. A soft kick ducks less than a hard one.
Tap the Sidechain header to turn it on or off.
After the mixer, the audio goes through this fixed chain:
Voices → Sidechain (all voices but the kick) → Crunch → Master Level → Soft Limiter
The chain is on the main output only. The separate voice outputs of the AUv3 (see Section 12) are before the mixer and the chain.
The Pattern Generator writes patterns for the pads from four knobs. Tap the Generator button in the bottom toolbar to open it.
With All Pads on, the generator makes the 16 pads as one set that you can play as a performance. It makes two grooves, A and B, and builds the pads from them:
| Pads | Content |
|---|---|
| 1–4 | Groove A, two variations of A, and a fill |
| 5–8 | Groove B, two variations of B, and a fill |
| 9–12 | A stripped, A busy, B stripped, B busy |
| 13–16 | More variations, a mix of A and B, and a big fill |
The fills are at the end of each row of pads, and each fill pad has its own type of fill (a snare run, kick and snare in turns, a run of FM hits, a drop to silence before one accent, or a stutter with ratchets). The two grooves share the same hats, so a switch between them is smooth.
The generator has no fixed list of patterns. Each groove comes from a map of rhythm weights: each step of each voice has a weight that tells how usual a hit is there. The Style knob and the random seed give the position on the map, Density sets how many of the steps get a hit, and Complex sets how much chance is in it. The voices are placed against each other: the kick keeps the snare accents free, the closed hat leaves room for the open hat, and the rim answers the snare.
Swing (0–1) — The feel:
Density (0–1) — How much plays. It is continuous: when you turn it up, hits come in and the hits that were there stay.
Style (0–1) — The type of rhythm:
The same Style value does not give the same groove each time: it gives grooves of the same type.
Complex (0–1) — How much surprise:
When All Pads is lit, Generate writes a new set on all 16 pads.
When it is off, Generate evolves the active pad: it makes a small number of changes to the pattern that is there (a hit moves, a hit comes in or goes out, a velocity or a ratchet changes, a percussion row turns by one step). Tap again for the next change. The rules are:
Evolve also works on patterns that you made by hand and on factory presets.
Generate in the panel and Regenerate in the bottom toolbar do the same thing: they run the generator with the current knob settings (a new set with All Pads on, an Evolve of the active pad with All Pads off). Each run is different. The generator changes patterns and groove only — your kits, the mixer, and the sidechain stay as they are.
A preset stores everything: all 16 pads with their kits, patterns, and groove settings, the mixer, the sidechain, and the tempo.
BreakBud has 16 factory presets for different styles (amen, jungle, drum and bass, garage, house, hardcore, footwork, electro) and an empty preset to start from. Each factory preset has its own tempo. You can load a factory preset, change it, and save your version as a user preset.
Tap the Presets button in the top toolbar to open the preset browser. It has two tabs: Factory Presets and User Presets. Tap a preset to load it. The previous and next buttons step through the list.
In the standalone app, a preset also sets the tempo. In an AUv3 host, the host tempo is used.
BreakBud supports four MIDI modes, each independently configurable. Access all MIDI settings from the Settings panel.
Receives MIDI notes to select which pad is active. Useful for switching pads from a MIDI foot controller or pad controller without touching the screen.
Each pad note restarts the pattern of the pad from step 1. The pad plays while the note is held and stops when the note is released.
Receives MIDI notes to trigger individual voices on the active pad. A note-on plays the voice directly, with the velocity of the note and at its exact time in the audio buffer. Use it for live finger-drumming alongside a running pattern.
Sends MIDI notes when you tap pads in the grid. Lets you use BreakBud's pad layout to trigger external gear or record note data into a DAW.
Sends MIDI notes from the running sequencer. Each hit of the pattern sends a note-on at its exact time and a note-off 20 ms later (drum machine convention). Ratchet hits send notes too. Route this to external hardware, a DAW track, or another AUv3 to sequence external instruments.
| Voice | Default Note | GM Name |
|---|---|---|
| Kick | C1 (36) | Bass Drum |
| Snare | D1 (38) | Snare |
| Closed Hat | F#1 (42) | Closed Hi-Hat |
| Open Hat | A#1 (46) | Open Hi-Hat |
| Rim | C#1 (37) | Side Stick |
| FM Hit | G1 (43) | High Floor Tom |
BreakBud connects to MIDI over:
When used as an AUv3 plugin, MIDI output is forwarded through the plugin's MIDI output port and received directly by the host.
BreakBud is fully functional as an AUv3 instrument plugin. Load it in any compatible host: AUM, GarageBand, Cubasis, ApeMatrix, Audiobus, Loopy Pro, and others.
When running as a plugin, BreakBud follows the host's tempo, transport, and song position. Press play in your host to start the pattern. BreakBud follows tempo changes, loops, and jumps in the timeline. Rows that are longer than one bar, and rows with an odd step count, follow the song position too, so the same place in the song always sounds the same.
BreakBud exposes 7 stereo output buses to the host. Bus 1 is the main mix of all voices. Buses 2–7 carry the six voices, one voice each. This lets you apply independent host-side processing (EQ, compression, reverb) to each voice.
The voice buses are the raw voices: they are before the mixer level and pan, the sidechain, Crunch, and the master level. You mix them in the host.
| Bus | Signal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Main mix |
| 2 | Kick |
| 3 | Snare |
| 4 | Closed Hat |
| 5 | Open Hat |
| 6 | Rim |
| 7 | FM Hit |
If you use the voice buses, do not also listen to Bus 1, or you hear the drums twice.
To use multi-output, configure the track's output assignment in your host and enable the additional output buses in the host's channel routing.
The voice parameters of the active pad, the mixer levels and pans, the sidechain, Crunch, and the master level are exposed to the host's automation system. Record or draw automation for any of them (e.g., a Crunch build, a hat decay sweep, a voice level fade) directly in your DAW. Steps and groove settings are not automation parameters.
BreakBud's preset system works inside the host. You can save and load presets from within the plugin UI. The host also saves the complete state of the plugin with your project, and the factory presets appear in the host's own preset list.
When loaded as an AUv3, BreakBud's sequencer MIDI output is forwarded through the plugin's MIDI output port. In hosts that support AUv3 MIDI output (AUM, Cubasis, etc.), you can route this output to additional instruments or record it as MIDI data.
Tap the Settings button in the bottom toolbar to open the settings panel.
Set the BPM for standalone playback (20–300). In AUv3 mode the host controls the tempo, and this section is not shown.
The channel and note settings of the four MIDI modes (Pad Input, Pad Output, Voice Input, Sequencer Output). See Section 11.
Choose how rotary knobs respond to touch: Horizontal, Vertical (default), Horizontal and Vertical, or Rotary (drag around the knob).
Load a factory preset you like, then open the Pattern Generator and generate new patterns on top of it. The kits, the mixer, and the sidechain of the preset stay; the generator writes new rhythms.
After a generate with All Pads on, play the pads as a song: stay on pads 1–3, hit pad 4 for a fill, move to the B groove on pads 5–7, drop to a stripped pad (9 or 11) for a breakdown, and use pad 16 for the big fill before you come back to pad 1.
In Groove Mode, set the Closed Hat row to 12 steps at 1/16 and the Kick row to 16 steps at 1/16. The 12-step hat cycles four times for every three kick cycles, which gives a 48-step pattern that keeps moving.
Set a snare step at the end of the bar to ratchet 3 or 4 for a roll into the next bar. For hats, ratchet 2 on the last step of each half bar gives a classic lift. Use ratchets on a few steps only — they work because they stand out.
Give the hat rows a small negative Nudge (2 to 6 ms early) and the snare a small positive Nudge (2 to 6 ms late). The groove gets a lot of life from this, even with no swing.
Clean synthesis can sound too polite for jungle and hardcore. Turn up Crunch to 0.3–0.5: the ghost notes and hat tails come up and the kit sounds like one sampled break. Lower the master level a little if the limiter works too hard.
The Burst parameter of the Rim voice is a continuum — try values in the middle (0.4–0.6) for hybrid rim/clap textures. At Burst 0, raise Decay for a longer, more tonal rim.
Set FM Hit Decay to 1000+ ms and Mod to 0.5 for sustained metallic tones, or Mod near 0 with a low Pitch for a sub bass hit. Its pitch is stable, so you can tune it to your track.
Set the FM Hit to a low Mod value with a pitch around 60–80 Hz and a short decay. Put it on the same steps as the Kick for a layered low end.
Turn on the sidechain with a Depth around 0.5, a Hold of 10 ms, and a Release of 150–250 ms. The hats and snare tails duck on every kick and the kick stays at full level. Raise Curve for a slower, more obvious pump.
In AUM, load BreakBud as a multi-output instrument. Route each voice bus (Buses 2–7) to its own AUM channel and leave Bus 1 unused, then apply per-channel effects (e.g., heavy reverb on snare, tight EQ on kick). Use AUM's mixer for the final blend.
Version updates of the sound engine can change how a saved preset sounds: the hats and the rim have new sound sources, ghost notes are quieter, and the kick is no longer ducked by the sidechain. Your presets still load with all their values. Adjust the voice levels, and shorten the kick Decay if the low end is too full.
When a MIDI note triggers a pad, the pattern always restarts from step 1. This is by design — each MIDI press is a new trigger. For pad switches on the screen, the sequencer position is kept so patterns stay in line.
Bus 1 is the complete mix and Buses 2–7 are the voices. Use Bus 1 alone, or the voice buses alone.